IBM, University of Missouri to Create Genome Research Cloud

IBM and the University of Missouri are teaming up to share genome research over a cloud infrastructure running on an IBM iDataPlex system. Big Blue and MU plan a "Life Sciences Corridor" across the Midwest to make the university's research on the genome sequences of plants and animals available easily and quickly.

IBM and the University of Missouri have announced an initiative
to collaborate on a research cloud computing platform across the
Midwest in which researchers will be able to share data on genomic
sequences.
Along with MU's current IT hardware infrastructure, IBM iDataPlex
high-performance systems will significantly accelerate the process of
DNA sequencing and analysis of humans, plants and animals. MU will then
share bioinformatics data with other universities in Missouri, Kansas
and elsewhere in the region.

"With a genomics cloud in place, researchers from multiple
universities and institutions will be able to access and share
bioinformatics resources and collaborate on scientific discoveries over
a broad geographic region-virtually from anywhere, but the idea is
for the MU genomics cloud to be concentrated in the Midwest," Jeff
Tieszen, an IBM spokesperson, told eWEEK.

Cloud computing platforms provide an inexpensive option for health
care providers to save money on IT resources and server space while
sharing data over a public or private network.
MU's research in the life sciences involves the study of genome
sequences in plants and animals to help improve the quality and
quantity of food production. MU is also studying how to fight infectious diseases
such as malaria and the H1N1 influenza virus. Using the genomics cloud,
a medical staff could sequence and analyze the DNA in mere minutes, IBM
and MU said.
In addition, genetic changes in cancer cells influence decisions on
how to treat leukemia as well as cancer of the breast, colon and lungs.
"The ability to get a lot of computing and storage resources at
rock-bottom cost - the ability to create an instrument for
collaboration across academic research centers is critical to
maintaining or increasing the pace of research in genomics-based
health," Gartner analyst Wes Rishel told eWEEK. Rishel explained
that collaboration is important in medical studies as organizations try
to build a big enough pool, or cohort, of participants from more than
one academic medical center or research organization.
"As a result, they may have to look at 100,000 likely patients to
come up with a couple dozen that would be a cohort," he said. "So the
ability to use the cloud both as a computing resource and a
collaboration tool and the degree to which a program actually goes
through the much harder business work that it takes to be a basis for
collaboration will be key contributors to their success."
The joint project, which should be operational within a month, is
part of an IBM Shared University Research Award program, which aims to
increase access to IBM technologies to further academic research.
"The availability of these resources will enable discoveries that
will benefit mankind and the environment," Gordon Springer, associate
professor in the MU Computer Science Department and scientific director
of the University of Missouri Bioinformatics Consortium, said in a
statement.
Although IBM described the cloud computing initiative for genomics
research as the "first of its kind," Gartner's Rishel noted that
similar projects are in the works, although he couldn't cite specific
examples. "This is leading edge but not unique," he said. "There are a
number of efforts going on like this."
IBM competes with giants such as Microsoft and Google
in the cloud computing space. "Cloud computing promises enormous
benefits for the health-care world," wrote Steve Aylward, general
manager of U.S. health and life sciences at Microsoft, in a June 28 blog post.
"These could include improved patient care, better health for the
overall populations providers serve and new delivery models that will
make health care more efficient and effective. And cloud computing can
help do all of this in a cost-effective way."

Brian T. Horowitz is a freelance technology and health writer as well as a copy editor. Brian has worked on the tech beat since 1996 and covered health care IT and rugged mobile computing for eWEEK since 2010. He has contributed to more than 20 publications, including Computer Shopper, Fast Company, FOXNews.com, More, NYSE Magazine, Parents, ScientificAmerican.com, USA Weekend and Womansday.com, as well as other consumer and trade publications. Brian holds a B.A. from Hofstra University in New York.